2 part Tonal Atonality - analytics, V. Kazarin

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2nd Introductory Article on ‘Tonal Atonality’:
how it is done


1.


Analysis of excerpts from the score of the violin concerto ‘From the Heart to the Sun’
which most vividly illustrates ‘Tonal Atonality’ and Kazarin’s compositional method


Figure 5 [using the score from the composer’s own CVK edition] is one of the first characteristic and expressive episodes in the score, perfectly illustrating:

- how the atonal texture works,
- how the tonal structure emerges,
- how polyphony integrates everything into a single organism,
- and why the music sounds natural, despite its complexity.

Descriptively, without a musical example for now, it looks like this:
sul tasto pp [ascending movement, forming an interval vertical];
Vn. 1,2 divisi in 12;
Vle div in2;
Vc divisi in 4;
Cb unis ped;

This is one of those moments where the music sounds almost like breathing, like a ‘glowing cloud’.
But inside lies an extremely complex structure.



1. Texture: ‘atonal radiance’

All string sections play:

- sul tasto
- pp or ppp
- uniform note durations
- soft, repeated notes
- almost without articulation

This creates the effect of:

- diffused light,
- a soft mist,
- an ‘aura’ around the future structure.

This is atonality as texture [see also figure 14].
It has no functional logic, but it does have an energetic and acoustic logic.



2. Structure: hidden tonality

Although the texture appears atonal, it has a tonal centre, but it:

- not expressed by a chord,
- not confirmed by a cadence,
- not articulated explicitly.

It exists in the line of the ‘solo parts’ [Figure 17], which in this fragment:

- carries a gentle, directional melody,
- uses stable intervals [often thirds and fourths],
- keeps the centre of gravity on open strings [A, D].

This is tonality as structure — it is not audible as a chord, but is felt as a direction [see also from bar 220 and Figure 26].



3. Polyphony: a mechanism of integration

In this passage [Measures 23, 24, 25, 26 and onwards], polyphony manifests itself not as imitation, but as micro-polyphony:

- each group plays its own layer,
- the layers are slightly offset,
- there is no single rhythmic pulse,
- but there is a single breath.

This is reminiscent of Ligeti, but with an important difference:

- in Ligeti — pure atonality,
- in Kazarin — atonality generated by tonality.

Polyphony here:

- binds the layers together,
- creates movement,
- maintains form,
- integrates structure and texture.



4. Why does this fragment[s] sound natural?

Despite its complexity, the ear perceives it as:

- soft,
- light,
- transparent,
- natural

Why?

Because:

1. The tonal centre is present, even if hidden [Figures 23, 24, 25].
2. The atonal texture does not clash, but ‘glows’ around the centre [Figure 26, where the centre is Vn_solo, the texture – sub-voice polyphony of a large divisi].
3. Polyphony [often sub-voice micro-polyphony, Measure 26] does not fragment but unifies [this effect is present throughout the score].
4. The dynamics pp–ppp-mp-ppp-p create a sense of calm [Figures 17, 18, 45, 46, 47, 48].
5. sul tasto, gliss nat.flg removes harshness and makes the sound ‘airy’ [Figures 34, 35].
6. The rhythmic uniformity creates a meditative effect [Figures 2, 3, 4, 30, 31, 32].

This is an example of how Kazarin achieves complexity without aggression, modernity without a rupture, and novelty without chaos [note Track 20: the static chromaticism of the Ord provides a foundation on the note A; the Pizz divisi, echoing it with intonational-tonal segments, creates an atonal micro-polyphonic environment].



5. Why these excerpts are important for understanding the concert as a whole
Because they demonstrate:

- how light is born in V. Kazarin’s music,
- how atonality becomes a medium rather than a conflict,
- how tonality becomes a structure rather than a set of rules,
- how polyphony becomes a breath rather than a technique.
This is the quintessence of his method.



2.


Harmony in V. Kazarin’s music is structured: not as in the classical tradition, not as in 20th-century atonality, and not as in modal music. It is a third system, where tonality and atonality do not clash, but give rise to one another.


1. The basic principle: tonality = structure, atonality = texture

This is the foundation.

For most composers:

- tonality and atonality are opposites,
- one supplants the other.

For Kazarin:

- tonality is the framework,
- atonality is the atmosphere,
- polyphony is the glue that binds them together.

This creates a sense of naturalness, even though the harmony is incredibly complex.



2. How tonality [structure] emerges

In Kazarin’s music, tonality is not functional but centred.

It arises from:

- stable intervals [often fourths, fifths, thirds],
- the soloist’s lines,
- recurring anchor notes,
- pedal tones in the orchestra.

For example, at the beginning of the concerto, the soloist holds the centre on A, even though there is atonal micro-polyphony all around.

This creates a sense of:

- direction,
- ‘gravity’,
- internal logic.

Tonalitiy here is not a chord, but a vector.



3. How atonality is structured [texture]

Atonality in Kazarin’s work is not chaos, but a medium.

It is created through:

- multi-level divisi,
- unconventional plucking techniques,
- micropolyphony,
- polyrhythm [9:4, 7:4, 5:3, 5:2, 3:2],
- scattered intervals,
- clusters,
- ‘floating’ durations.

This is similar to Ligeti, but with one crucial difference:
atonicity in Kazarin is always subordinate to the tonal centre.
It is ‘light surrounding form’.



4. How polyphony unites structure and texture

Polyphony is a mechanism of integration.

It:

- links the soloist’s melodic lines,
- distributes the atonal layers of the orchestra [micropolyphony in the lower voices],
- creates movement [in blocks, layers],
- maintains form,
- transforms chaos into breath.

This is neither Baroque polyphony nor dodecaphonic polyphony. It is energetic polyphony — the movement of layers, not themes.



5. How the vertical structure [chords] is constructed

Here is the key point: Kazarin has no chords in the classical sense.

The vertical structure arises:

- as an intersection of lines [including through sub-voice polyphony],
- as a result of micro-polyphony,
- as a ‘snapshot’ of movement,
- as an energetic moment.

Therefore, chords:

- are not functional,
- do not resolve,
- do not form cadences,
- but create a sensation of ‘flashes of light’.

This is harmony not by the rules, but by the nature of the sound.



6. How the ‘generative principle’ works

This is the key difference from all other systems.

According to Vyacheslav Kazarin:

- tonality gives rise to atonality,
- atonality gives rise to polyphony,
- polyphony gives rise to the vertical dimension,
- the vertical dimension gives rise to form.

This is not a contrast, but a process of growth, like that of a living organism.
That is why the music sounds natural, even when the texture is incredibly complex.



7. Example from the score [Figures 17, 26, 34, 35]

What is happening:

- the orchestra creates atonal micro-polyphony,
- the solo part holds the tonal centre [Figure 4, ascending hymnal motif],
- polyphony [aleatoric + solo Vn, Figure 35] connects the layers,
- the vertical texture emerges as a ‘radiance’ rather than a chord.

These are perfect examples of Tonal Atonality in action.



8. Why the harmony sounds natural

Because:

- the brain ‘feels and recognises’ the tonal centre,
- atonality does not clash, but ‘glows’,
- polyphony creates a sense of breathing,
- the vertical line does not overwhelm, but emerges naturally,
- the form develops organically.

This is a rare instance where modern harmony is:

- complex,
- new,
- yet neither aggressive nor cold.



9. Conclusion: what makes Kazarin’s harmony unique

It is:

-    not functional,
-    not modal,
-    not atonal,
-    not polystylistic,
-    not an extended tonality.

This is a new system in which:

-    tonality = structure,
-    atonality = texture,
-    polyphony = integration.

Taken together: the harmonic vertical, horizontal and diagonal.
And all of this functions as a single living organism.



Arina Ryazantseva, art historian and biographer of composer Vyacheslav Kazarin
Russia, Moscow 2026

` A-CVK